Tis the season for eating. No matter how much we (over) indulge on Christmas Day, there always seem to be leftovers.

Leftovers are a precious part of Christmas, with many Kiwi families counting on leftovers to feed themselves for Christmas dinner, Boxing Day and beyond. But there inevitably comes a point when you can’t handle another ham sandwich. This is where your freezer steps in. Read more.

Clean out for Christmas. November is a good time to clean out your fridge, freezer and pantry in preparation for Christmas. Not only will you be making space to store a turkey or ham, and lots of leftovers, you can also save yourself some money in the process. Read more.

To peel or not to peel. Are you someone who peels every vegetable, regardless of how you are going to be cooking it? Or do you do it out of habit, reaching for the peeler on auto pilot? Peeling vegetables (and many fruits) is a waste of food, time, money, fibre and nutrients. Read more.

Use you loaf. 20 million loaves of bread are thrown away in New Zealand every year. It’s hard to believe that all of our uneaten crusts, stale slices and mouldy bread could add up to so much waste. Bread is a staple ingredient but you may find you only ever use it for toast and sandwiches. There are lots of different things you can do with bread, like making our meal in a mug recipe. Read more.

Citrus is the star of winter. When not a lot else is in season it is sweet, colourful and cheap. Many people who grow citrus are faced with the problem of how to eat it all.

If you have a citrus tree, it is best to leave the fruit on the tree and pick as needed. Citrus can stay good for months on the tree. The longer they stay on the tree, the sweeter they get. Read more.

Be a broccoli stalker. Do you eat broccoli stalks? If not, why not? It may be the case that you were only served the florets as a child, so you think that you can't eat the stalks. Broccoli stalks are both edible and delicious

Everything you needed to know about expiry dates. Many of us get confused by the dates printed on our food packaging. Some of us wouldn’t touch food even a day past the date listed, while others are comfortable to eat food well after. Knowing the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ is important in reducing food waste. So what do they mean?

Fabulous Feijoas. The eagerly anticipated feijoa season is always fast and furious. In May many of us are sick of the sight of them, but then it’s over for the rest of the year. Once you’ve stewed, bottled, frozen and/or made paste or jam you will be left with a mountain of feijoa skins. Don’t throw them in the compost bin just yet – they’re perfect for flavouring cordial. Find out how.

From one meal to the next. Leftovers are an inevitable part of cooking - sometimes we can accidentally cook too much while other times our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. A savvy cook can use the leftovers from one meal as the starting point for the next. This way of cooking not only ensures that any leftover food doesn’t go to waste, but it can also save you time and money. Read more, including a Pumpkin Hummus recipe.

Are you a picky eater? Not necessarily in the food, you like to eat, but more in the way you like your food to look? Despite a few outer imperfections, ‘ugly’ produce is just as nutritionally good as any other regular produce. This healthy and nutritious food is going to waste, purely because of how it looks. Read more, including a Carrot Cake Cookie recipe.

Recipe of the Month: February is a wonderful time of year when gardens are full of produce. If your garden is producing more food than you can eat, don’t let it go to waste. If you have a glut of tomatoes, make the most of them by turning it into this easy pasta sauce which will keep for months, either in preserving jars or in the freezer. Read more

Love Your Christmas Leftovers: With Christmas just around the corner, now is the time to start planning your Christmas feast. This usually results in an expensive shopping bill, but if you plan your meals well, you might find that your Christmas dinner will keep you going through Boxing Day and beyond. Read more

The average New Zealand family throws away three full shopping trolleys of uneaten food each year, adding up to more than $560 of food going to waste. The Love Food Hate Waste website draws awareness to our behaviours around consuming and throwing out food, with a range of informative solutions and tips. Read more.

The long, mellow autumn has brought a plentiful harvest each Thursday to Transition Town Ōtaki’s community fruit and vegetable stall. Quinces are especially abundant this year but seem to be a mystery to many who come to the stall. Find out the secret to cooking a perfect quince, and more on how the Season Surplus stall operates. Read more

Community Kai in Kāpiti: New initiatives in Kāpiti that are finding ways to both reduce food waste and provide food for to those in need. Read more.